


Down on the farm

by Yellowbirdbluetoo



Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Gary doesn't end up with Mary, Her voice is like so country like a Georgia type of country, I always never read OC stories but here I am writing, M/M, OC is main character, one - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-06-28 11:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15705975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yellowbirdbluetoo/pseuds/Yellowbirdbluetoo
Summary: Takes place right after the crew rescues Little Cato. They decide that getting back to earth is probably the smartest move, so Gary tells them he knows a place where they should be safe.-|-Mary Lou Anne is not pleased to have Gary Goodspeed show up out of the blue fate five years.





	1. Safe haven

**Author's Note:**

> P.S Avocato doesn't get nurfed here because I like to block out traumatic events.
> 
> Also also, slight love triangle here woth Gary, Mary Lou, and Avocato that will probably end with Garycato but not before some trips happen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New story! Au
> 
> Takes place right before the end of episode six, and erasing the ending of that episode. Gary thinks that the safest place to dock and come up with a plan is earth, Quinn says the Infinity Guard will be after them so nowhere is safe.
> 
> Gary knows a place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mary Lou Anne is my OC, shes a southern gal at heart, running an orphanage for little girls (and Wallace). 
> 
> I love her.

"Are you sure this place is safe Gary?". Quinn looked warily over the pilot at the empty acres of land, that had a few scarce barns and a farmhouse nearby.

"Pssh, of course its safe Quinn. Trust me". He began carefully landing the Galaxy One on an empty field of land that thankfully didn't have any crops growing out of it.

"I've known this place for years, and if any place is safe, its here". 

"I HAD TROUBLE LOCATING THIS PLACE ON THE MAP. IT IS VERY HARD TO DETECT. WHOEVER IS HERE CLEARLY DOES NOT WANT TO BE FOUND". HUE chimes from above them. 

"If Gary says its safe, I believe him". Avocato puts a hand on the blondes shoulder. "Thank you Avocato. Its nice to see trust!". He says rather dramatically, looking pointedly at Quinn. Mooncake chirps from his spot up in the air. 

The cockpit is crowded, with everyone carefully bracing for the landing; which isn't as bumpy as it was last time(which Gary definitely brags about). 

"HUE, download into my watch so you can come with". His watch beeped, lighting up and HUE's voice came out of the watch. "DOWNLOAD COMPLETE".

"Yes! Alright lets head out!".

-|-

Gary walked down the ships stairs, jumping the last few steps, and taking a deep breath once his feet hit the ground. "Ah yeah, smell that earth. Isn't it great?".

"It smells like manure". Quinn said, scrunching up her nose".

"I know right!" He took a big whiff. "Smells like home".

Mooncake floated around him, looking at the flowers and grass with interest, while Avocato and Little Cato trailed behind. The two ventrexians had never seen earth and looked vaguely intrigued. 

"So Gary, just exactly who's farm is this-"

"Gary Goodspeed!".

The group all turned to see a lady, around Gary's age, storming towards them angrily.

She was tall, dark skinned, with brown hair that blended to orange as it bounced around her mid-back. She wore a pair of what looked like gardening shorts and an old green flannel over a white tank. Dirt stained the black boots that went up nearly to her knees. A pair of glasses were sitting slightly crooked on her nose. Freckles splattered across her face, which was set in a furious snarl.

Quinn queued up her blaster, worried that Gary was wrong and that whoever owned the land wasn't friendly, but Gary pushed it down with his hand. Quinn noticed the nervous, if not outright frightened look on his face. 

"Gary J. Goodspeed!". The woman shouted again as she got closer. Gary held his hands it as if to calm her but if anything she seemed to get angrier.

"What in tarnation are you doing here!". Her voice was thickly laced country accent. She looked very mad.

She tore a glove off and hit Gary upside the head, making Quinn pull the blaster up again. 

Gary, once again, knocked it down with his hand.

"You havent made any form of contact with me for five years, and when you do, ya.... ya show up with a group of space pirates!". She gestures angrily and Quinn, Avocato, Little Cato, and Mooncake.

And then you land on my property with a giant space ship, which by the way, terrified the girls and Wallace, while you know I dont like having attention drawn to us!". 

She falters in using the glove again, before slipping back on her hand. "What the h-e-double hockey sticks, were you thinking!".

"Im sorry, Mary Lou Anne, but we needed somewhere safe to go and-"

"Now Gary Goodspeed, do not go leading some threat to my farm, or I will kick you and your pirates outta here, swear on my Pa!".

"No one knows were here dont worry". Gary tries to calm her again.

"I will take off my boot, do not test me!".

Everyone watched on as Gary sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I will tell you everything, just, not out in the open. Can we please get to the house first?". "Gary-". 

"Please Mary Lou".

Quinn's never heard Gary actually plead before. This girl-Mary Lou Anne?- seemingly has, because she sighs too. "Gary I heard you were in the Hooscow”. She says it in a hushed whisper. Gary gives a dry chuckle. "Its a looong story. But I didn't break out, and I'll tell you everything later, promise". She paused, seeming to think it over. Invite four strangers into your house because of a promise from Gary?

Quinn wasn't sure she would do it. 

But Mary Lou Anne nodded. 

"Follow me".

-|-

Its a twenty minute walk from where they landed to get to her house. 

No one talks until ten minutes in. Gary, always struggling in silence, tries to clear some air.

"How are the girls?"

"...fine".

Another long beat of silence. She clears her throat. "They sure missed you". She adds.

"I missed them too". He gets a small smile on his face. "How's Wallace". Mary snorts. "You should see him, he fancies little Lucille now".

"Little Lucy? Shut up!".

"And here I thought he was gonna fall for Alice". Mary shakes her head.

"Its true". She grins. "She won't admit it but I think she secretly fancies him".

The two share a lingering smile, but Quinn can't dicifer what it means.

-|- 

They arrive at an old looking farmhouse, that has an old crooked wooden sign hanging above the door.

'Ms. Henry's home for girls'.

Quinn could spot a few small faces peering out the windows near the doors, and she saw a group of girls eyes scan through all of them stopping on Gary. They gasped, eyes widening and then they were all running out of the house. 

A stampede of footsteps thundered out of the house and before she could even speak, Gary had become surrounded by little girls. 

The man in question couldn't seem to be happier, as he was chattering excitedly with all of them.

"Lotta you've gotten so tall, and Courtney your practically a giant now"!

They all continued talking, and Quinn couldn't help but smile at the scene. She didn't know how Gary knew this girl or all little girls currently surrounding him but the scene was definitely cute.

He had an arm out almost thoughtlessly and two girls hung from his arm, one swinging, the other looking at Gary as he talked. She had no clue how he was managing the weight.

"Oh everybody! These are my friends!". He points at them, though Mooncake is already playing with one of the younger girls, who chases him, laughing. 

Avocato waves looking slightly awkward. One of the girls looks at him and squeals. "A cat! Gary brought back a kitty!". And he is immediately surrounded by at least five of them.

Little Cato, smart enough to move, found Wallace (who Quinn assumed was the only boy) and had struck up a conversation.

"Alright alright, Girls, Gary, Gary's friends". Mary Lou Anne speaks up. "Everyone inside, I gotta start dinner". She smiles at the sight of Gary with the girls before herding them up the steps, onto the porch and into the house.


	2. Chapter 2

Gary has easily fallen back into their old routine, as he helps Mary Lou make dinner. Kids run in and out of the kitchen, and he manages to turn and catch Angel (an adorable little blonde) when she trips, before she hits the floor. 

She yells back a thank you as she runs out, and Gary smiles after her, only turning back to Mary Lou when he hears her laugh. 

“What’s so funny?”. He goes back to helping with dinner, and she sighs. “You’ve still got those reflexes I see. It’s kinda like you never left”. She looks wistfully out the window at the sky. 

“Feels like I’ve only been gone for a few minutes, not a few years”. He says shrugging. She pauses from cooking, turning to look at him. 

“Gary... what happened to you? Where did you go? What did-“.

Once again they’re interrupted, this time by Cassidy ( a spunky tween tomboy) runs in followed by Angel. “Everyone’s wonderin’ when dinner’ll be ready”. Cassidy says, playfully messing with Angels blonde curls. 

Mary Lou waves a wooden spoon at her. “Dinner will be ready when I tell you it’s ready. Be patient”.

They both groan and huff as Gary shoos then from the kitchen.

“It’s... complicated”. He turns a burner down. “I’ll tell you everything after everyone’s asleep. Promise is a promise”.

-/-

Dinner, as he remembers it, is messy. The long table outback is full of them all, from Alexandra to Winnie, and the added guest of him and the others made a it look like a party. 

“Bella, pass the Mac and cheese!”. Gary calls from across the table, and it rings down. Bella, just as she had last he’d seen her, had her head in a book. Jessie from next to her pokes her, and Bella’s head shoots up making her ponytail bounce. 

“Oh, yeah here”. She hands it to Jessie, and it goes through a number of hands until it gets to him. He yells a thank you, ignoring Mary Lou’s rule of ‘no shouting at the table’.

Ally from next to him is sharing a story about Harry, the old farm dog who’s begging for scraps somewhere down the table. 

It feels like falling back into a couch, that you’ve sat on a million times. Or a puzzle clicking back into place. He glances at Quinn, Avocato, and Little Cato, the last of which is chatting avidly with Wallace. Gary has to stifle a snicker at how out of place Avocato and Quinn look. Both seem as if they’ve never seen this many kids. Even Avocato, as a parent, seems perplexed. 

Quinn has definitely never interacted with a child judging by how she’s scanning the table with a suspicious eye. 

“Gary!”. Jessie pipes up loudly enough to make Piper next to her remove her headphones. “Tell is another story! About space!”.

He blanches. ‘So someone had definitely snooped and overheard’. He smirks. “Okay. What do you wanna her about? The space ships, or the-“. A pause for dramatic effect. “Aliens!”.

A lot of squeals erupt from the table, and a few groans from some of the older teens. Avocato forms across from his huffs and rolls is eyes. Gary winks at him. “Well, our dear Avo is an alien here. And guess where I found him?”.

A couple ‘Where’s’ erupt from the table and he catches Mary Lou an giving him a questioning glance. 

“On a planet made of nothing but candy!”. The younger kids squeal and the older ones fake indifference but he knows they’re interested underneath the built in teenage cynicism. 

“And then what?”. Carrie, who’s messing around with what seems to be an old game boy, looks up and shouts from near Mary Lou. Gary sends the farm lady a grin and he continues. “We has to fight a monster made of Cotten candy just to get back to our ship!”. 

Nessa, one of the teens, brushes her dark bangs from her face and speaks around a mouthful of chicken. “This, so didn’t happen?”. From next to her, another teen, Avery, nudges her roughly with her elbow. “Don’t be so mean, let him tell it”.

“Thank you, Avery”. Gary says sending a meaningful look to the two. He remembers when they were just five or so, always following underfoot. 

“Avocato’s son, little Cato, was in danger of being eaten by a Candycorn beast. So I called back up, and Quinn rode in on a unicorn made of... of chocolate with a popsicle horn!”.

“Hey!”. Eight year old Veida yells. “You hesitated! Zoey says that’s what you do when your about to lie!”.

Zoey and Hannah, twins all the same, look up and wince. They still haven’t learned to be careful on what you say around the young ones. 

“Untrue! It’s just been so long that I forgot some parts. Like how Quinn had a sword made of old bubble gum! Right Quinn?”.

Quinn looks startled, as if she hadn’t been listening, but after a moment nods. “Yep. It just.... “.

She looks at him for help 

“It took a long time to chew”. Avocato interrupts sending him a smirk and Gary is sure his cheeks turn pink and he ignores the sprinkle of giggles from the older girls. 

“Yes! It did, thank you Avocato”. He turns the story back around and manages to finish it before dinner ends. 

-/-

The after dinner routine is comforting. 

He still knows(somehow) how to wrangle them up, and divide and conquer. There’s a written schedule now, which he has no idea how Mary Lou manages, but half the older girls start with cleanup and he and Avocato are responsible for sending the majority of the younger girls to bed, making sure teeth are brushed, and stuffed animals are with their rightful owners. 

It’s a long process. Quinn and Mary Lou are still outside cleaning up the table to make sure no wild animals will go near it, and they still have to straighten up the kitchen and- 

“Uhh... Gary... someone’s on my leg”.

He turns out of his thoughts to find Avocato looking at him pleadingly, and gazed down to find a girl attached to his leg. He had to ponder for a moment, trying to conjure a name. She must be more recent than the others he knew. 

He kneels down to her level, and she stares at him curiously. Three maybe? Four?. “Whats your name sweetie?”.

“I’m... Arianna, but everyone calls me Ari. I’m five”. Her R’s come off as W’s, and she’s missing a tooth. 

“Well Ari, it’s time for bed, so how about I give you a big lift?”. He’s quick to scoop her up(a trick he’s picked up) and she doesn’t complain and simply gives Avocato a wave goodbye as she yawns. 

The farm house is pretty big to house all the girls, and he peeks in multiple rooms, from the teens room(which is easily recognizable) to the much younger kids room, and it takes two more doors down the hallway until he finds a room with an empty bed and a pink teddy bear. 

He’s sure to be quiet as all the other girls in the room seem asleep, and he tucks Ari in, grinning as she instinctively grabs the bear and he pats her hair as she settles in and is easily letting her eyes fall close. 

He creeps out, and quietly closes the door. 

“Ya still got it, huh?”.

He holds back a yelp when he whirls around to find Mary Lou behind him. She’s got a smirk on her face and has already changed into a tank top, and pajama pants. 

She motions for him to follow her and he does, traveling up the stairs until he reaches the top. They share the floor with another room for teens, and further down the hall one for girls who are scared and frequently have to be checked on in the night.

Her room is much more same as it was then, same shaggy carpet, an old lava lamp on the desk. It has the same smell and the same air of just HER. 

It hits him strong with a feeling of nostalgia and for a quick second he wishes with his entire heart that he had stayed. 

He wished he hadn’t left all those years ago, and done all the things he’d done. It’s a flash to the past of him imaging them being together with a hundred little girls(and Wallace) running around. Maintaining the farm and just in general being here. 

He realizes what it is. He feels a stab of guilt for leaving her behind. 

“Gary?”.

He blinks out of his thoughts, realizing Mary Lou had called his name more than once. “Oh, y-yes”. 

She plops on the bed and pats the spot next to her. 

“Time for that talk”.


End file.
